Public Radio Showcase 3-3-12

4:40 pm

Sat March 3, 2012

After Kim Jong-il: America and the Two Koreas

The death of Kim Jong-il last December - and the appointment of his unknown and untested twenty-something son Kim Jong-un as his successor - has left the world on the edge of its seat – and with plenty of questions.

The US, South Korea, and North Korea’s neighbors are watching closely to see what comes next.

We’ll look back at the history of America’s relationship with the two Koreas.

We’ll hear from the negotiators who penned the 1994 agreement with North Korea that brought the two countries back from the brink of war.

And we’ll talk to North Koreans themselves - defectors who have found refuge in South Korea - about their reactions to the leadership change in the North.

Program Details:

Daniel Shin reports on how the generational divide between South Koreans impacts their attitudes towards the North.

Ray Suarez looks back at the more than 60 years of American involvement on the Korean peninsula.

Lisa Schroeder talks to North Korean defectors living in Seoul to hear their insights into the recent leadership change in North Korea and their hopes for the future of the country they left behind.

Clinton Administration officials look back at the negotiations leading to the 1994 nuclear agreement with North Korea.

Ray Suarez talks to Victor Cha from Georgetown University and Scott Snyder from the Council on Foreign Relations about what Kim Jong-Il’s death will mean for future relations between America and the two Koreas.